Built for Quality

A deep dive into the engineering behind KnobSmith plugins: anti-aliased processing, real-time safety, and our rigorous testing methodology.

Our DSP Stack

⚙️C++20

Modern C++ for maximum performance and safety. Concepts, ranges, and compile-time guarantees where they matter.

🎹JUCE Framework

Industry-standard cross-platform framework. VST3, AU, and standalone builds from a single codebase.

📦Modular Core Library

Shared DSP components across all plugins: waveshapers, filters, parameter smoothing, and more.

Anti-Aliased Processing

Nonlinear processing (saturation, waveshaping) creates harmonics that can alias back into the audible spectrum. We use ADAA (Antiderivative Anti-Aliasing) to eliminate this without expensive oversampling.

What is ADAA?

Antiderivative Anti-Aliasing - a mathematical technique for alias-free waveshaping

Traditional waveshaping applies a nonlinear function (like tanh) directly to samples. This creates harmonics that fold back below the Nyquist frequency, causing harsh artifacts—especially noticeable on high-frequency content.

ADAA uses the antiderivative of the waveshaping function to compute a band-limited approximation. The result: clean saturation at any sample rate, with minimal CPU overhead.

No aliasing artifactsWorks at any sample rateLower CPU than oversampling

Real-Time Safety

Audio plugins run on a real-time thread with strict timing constraints. A single allocation, lock, or system call can cause audio dropouts. We engineer for predictable, glitch-free performance.

❌ Never on Audio Thread

• Memory allocation (new, malloc, std::vector resize)
• Mutex locks or condition variables
• File I/O or network calls
• String formatting or logging
• System calls of any kind

✅ Always on Audio Thread

• Denormal protection (ScopedNoDenormals)
• Pre-allocated buffers and lookup tables
• Lock-free parameter updates (atomics)
• Branchless math where possible
• SIMD-optimized inner loops

Comprehensive Testing

Every plugin goes through automated and manual testing before release. We don't just test for crashes—we test for audio quality.

Automated Audio Tests

• DC offset measurement (< 0.001)
• Noise floor verification (< -60 dB)
• Parameter smoothing (no zipper noise)
• Gain staging sanity checks
• Mix control linearity
• Extreme settings stability

Validation Matrix

• pluginval Level 10 (VST3, AU)
• Sample rates: 44.1k to 192kHz
• Buffer sizes: 64 to 4096 samples
• DAW testing: Logic, Ableton, Reaper
• 60-minute soak tests
• State save/load verification

Want to Learn More?

Check out our articles for deep dives into DSP algorithms, audio engineering, and plugin development.